The Seattle Kraken’s eight-game winning streak ended where it began. The team around the German Phillip Grubauer won 4-1 against the New York Islanders at their home Climate Pledge Arena on January 1 and then went on to win seven away wins in a row. 15 days later, on Monday, the Kraken returned to their hometown and lost 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. “Hopping around in time zones is a little tricky,” Grubauer said afterwards. “Obviously it’s nice to be back after a seven-game road trip, but now we’ll be back on the road so we have to make sure we win the next game again.”
The fact that Seattle’s eight-game winning streak ended in their home arena has less to do with Seattle itself than with an outstanding opponent. “We played a pretty complete game, I would say. I never felt like we were in trouble,” said Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper. “They’re a good hockey team, so they got some chances. But I think we limited that pretty well. They pushed, of course, but we got through that phase well.”
The game wasn’t nearly as straightforward as the end result suggests. Tampa Bay went through a hit in the 19th minute Pierre-Edouard Bellemare 1-0 lead. However, that was followed by 29 goalless minutes before Nicholas Paul extended the lead to 2-0. In the 51st minute left Vince Dunn with the goal to make it 1: 2 at Seattle there is hope again. However, when Grubauer was taken off the ice in favor of an additional player, there were concerns Brandon Hagel and Victor Hedman with their two hits into the empty goal for the final score of 4:1.
Video: TBL@SEA: Paul gives Lightning a 2-0 lead
Grubauer was given preference over his goalkeeper colleague Martin Jones, who has scored in seven of his last eight games won and was named NHL First Star of the Week on Monday. “Both guys are good. You just have to look at Jones’ record or Grubauer’s performance in his last four or five games,” said coach Dave Hakstol, adding of the German goalie’s performance: “He’s been very solid. ” Grubauer parried 27 shots from the well-known offensive from Tampa Bay. “They recently won two Stanley Cups and have been very successful for a number of years,” Grubauer said of the opponent. “They know exactly what they have to do, play a very good system but also have the skills to make good plays outside of their own system.”
It speaks for Seattle’s strong development that they are critical of their own performance after their first defeat in 2023. Goalscorer Dunn particularly criticized the early stages of his team, who had a shot on goal ratio of 1:7 after five minutes: “We are at home. We sleep in our own beds. There is no excuse for the fact that we were so flat at the beginning.” The defender has now extended his points streak to seven games (four goals, seven assists) but wasn’t happy about the result: “I think we could have been much better outside our zone. We had our chances and some good approaches . We saved a few shots too, but in the end we just should have been better in the finish.”
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While the longest winning streak in Seattle’s young franchise history, which is in its second NHL season, has come to an end, Tampa Bay has extended its own winning streak to four games. Ian Colethe Tampa Bay defender, said: “They’re a good team. They have a lot of good players. They play fast, check hard and switch quickly. But we held them well in check for the most part. “
The Kraken will try to get back on the road to success on Tuesday in the game against the Edmonton Oilers (9 pm ET; NHL.tv; Wed. 3 pm CET). Tampa Bay takes on the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday (10 p.m. ET; NHL.tv; Thurs. 4 p.m. ET).
